The Future Must-Have for Hospitality Marketing: Video

For those in sales and marketing departments specifically, 2020 saw many of their plans put on hold as face-to-face campaigns were no longer feasible. Things that used to work, like pop-up shops or hosting events, are now inapt. Instead, the need to reach consumers where they are and in the way they want to be reached is only one of the many changes spurred by the pandemic.

Since the pandemic started, consumer behavior has been impacted, growing in both the new and increased use of video. Activities involving video content like online streaming, TikTok, and virtual fitness classes have all increased in use — not to mention the number of hours we have spent on FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Hangouts since March of last year.

As marketing teams continually accommodate the changes in consumer behavior, one facet of interaction and engagement with customers will be consistent: video.

The expansion of video-based content

The need for human interaction and a personalized experience didn’t disappear with the onslaught of the pandemic. Especially for the hospitality industry whose customers are inundated with bland, text-based email, video will become critical to grab attention and engage individuals in a fresh new way. From this, we will see a major expansion in video content as well as video-based content management solutions, scalable for both small and large companies, that can fill the gap of customer interaction and communication. With a need for outreach strategies to engage consumers, video as a tool will become a requirement for all initiatives and operations.

Another level of AI for video

As more visual content is created, companies will better understand the interests of consumers, allowing them to better create content their customers want to see. Similar to the TikTok “For You” page or the Instagram “suggested posts” feed, we will find that AI for video can predict and prescribe the most effective content for consumers. Anything from providing insight on the most-watched videos to predicting which video email subject lines will gain the most interaction, this data collection will help businesses enhance their outreach strategies and overall presence to drive better consumer engagement.

Brand videos will mimic TikTok

Because attention spans have hit an all-time low at an average of eight seconds, the need for attention-grabbing content and snappy communication is at an all-time high. Like we have seen through the success of apps like TikTok, quick, searchable, and informative videos are what prevail against long-form video or even archaic text. In order to accommodate for the change in behavior coupled with the shortened attention span for consumers, brief and convenient video content for distribution will be the standard of marketing teams across industries. Through this, we will see companies utilize their creativity for new ways of video interaction, whether that be distributing information or conducting outreach to prospects, making easily digestible and accessible information the go-to approach.

The new year is ushering in new tools and outreach strategies, and we can expect to see that video content and engagement will continue to increase exponentially. Hospitality businesses that adapt to this changing consumer landscape by incorporating tools like video email into their practices will succeed in customer communication and engagement.